


Birthday Blues

by Torpor



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Gen, listen they're really dumb, love confessions sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28472385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Torpor/pseuds/Torpor
Summary: Dimitri is saddened when his dear friend seems to have skipped his birthday party, only to receive a more meaningful gift than he could have imagined.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Original Female Character(s), Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Birthday Blues

**Author's Note:**

> I know I'm a little late for both his birthday and Christmas, but I guess better late than never.

He sighed and rolled his shoulders, making his way up the stairs from the commons below. His classmates meant well, but they were boisterous and too insistent that he try this sweet or that, not knowing that he couldn’t enjoy them to their fullest extent. He heaved a sigh as he picked his way down the hall, worrying his lip. 

Veronica had been absent. He knew she disliked large crowds, but he had thought that she’d gotten better about it since she’d come out of her shell a little. He didn’t want to feel bitter about it, but he couldn’t quite help it. She was a good friend of his, and knowing she purposefully avoided his birthday party made him feel horrible. Had he done something wrong?

He unlocked the door to his room and paused there in the doorway, surprised to see Veronica on his bed, lounging on it as though she belonged there. He snapped the door shut behind him, confusion and embarrassment bubbling away in his belly. She looked at him with a lazy smile before swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress. 

“Where have you been?” he asked. There must have been something in his tone, for she looked at him apologetically. 

“Procuring something very important. I would have liked to have presented it to you earlier, but I only just managed to retrieve it. I’m sorry I missed the party,” she said. He felt guilty for even being miffed. How could he be angry with her when she looked at him like that?

“All is well, Ronnie… I suppose I was just worried.” 

She smiled ruefully and dug a long, narrow box out of her coat pocket and presented it to him, her expression open and thoughtful. He took the box from her and weighed it in his palm, trying to get a sense for what it might be. She watched him, her pale eyes flicking between his hand and his face.

“Open it, Mitya,” she prompted. 

He was hesitant for reasons he couldn’t quite point to. There was something like finality in the act of pulling away the blue silk ribbon. What if he broke it? What if he found himself not liking something she went through the trouble of getting him? What if--

He tugged the ribbon gently and pulled the lid off with shaking fingers. There, nestled on a velvet cushion, was a dagger. Its hilt was wrapped in copper wire and black leather, its pommel was a perfect pear shape, and the crossguard was simple but elegantly flared. The scabbard matched the hilt and fit the blade perfectly. He removed it from the box with care and unsheathed it, gazing at the smith’s brand just at the base of the blade. This was a Zoltan piece. The blade shone bright and silvery, and bore a handful of simple sigils. He knew them to mean ‘prosperity,’ ‘bravery,’ and ‘protection.’

He felt tears stinging at his eyes as he held it in his hands. Normally his father would have been the one to give him such a gift on his 18th birthday, but he wasn’t there, and Rodrigue was far away in Faerghus. That she would do this for him… 

He pulled her into an embrace and buried his face against the side of her neck, his shoulders shaking with his quiet crying. Her hand came up to cup the back of his head, her fingers sinking into his hair while her other stroked his back. She rocked them side to side, shushing him as she did. It felt good to be held, so he squirmed closer, minding the dagger as he did so. 

“How on earth did you afford this? It must have cost a fair bit… you didn’t have to.”

“I didn’t do it alone. Duke Fraldarius helped. It’s from us both, you could say. He sends his warm regards, though I imagine you’ll be receiving a letter,” she said.

“You’re both so good to me,” he sniffled, wiping away tears. He put the dagger down on the desk and took both of her hands in his. They felt delicate in his grasp, though he knew she was strong. She couldn’t handle wyverns if she weren’t, after all. 

“Of course we are, we care for you. One would think you’d be used to that by now.”

“In truth, I may never be used to it. I struggle to see how I’ve earned it…” he trailed off as she took his face in her hands, pressing their foreheads together as she did. 

“You don’t _earn_ love, Mitya. What else do I do with you, if I do not love you? What choice have I? There is only love, or indifference.”

There was a time when he wouldn’t have understood what she meant, but he thought he did now, for he felt the same way. What else did he do with her? He could only love her. He pulled her back into his arms and resumed rocking them side to side, wondering whether it was a good time to tell her how he felt. They had already gotten it out into the open that she loved him, though whether she meant it in the same way he did, he couldn’t say. 

_Later_ …

Yes. There would always be time. This was a wonderful moment. Why ruin it? He could tell her another time. For now, he would just hold her and bask in his truth.


End file.
